William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891) was a Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman. The

Notman House Notman House () is a gathering place for tech startups, entrepreneurs and founders situated in a historic building at 51 Sherbrooke Street West in Montreal, Quebec, near the Golden Square Mile. Completed in 1845 for William Collis Meredith, Sir Wil ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

was his home from 1876 until his death in 1891, and it has since been named after him. Notman was the first photographer in Canada to achieve international recognition.

Biography

Notman was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1826. He received a decent education, which included lessons in painting and drawing. He moved to Montreal in the summer of 1856. An amateur photographer, he quickly established a flourishing professional photography studio on Bleury Street, a location close to Montreal's central commercial district, where he attracted clients who were members of the political and business elite. His first important commission was the documentation of the construction of the Victoria Bridge across the

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

. The bridge opened with great fanfare in 1860, attended by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and Notman's camera. The gift to the prince of a maple box containing Notman's photographs of the construction of the bridge and scenes of

Canada East Canada East () was the northeastern portion of the Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new colony, known as the Province of ...

and

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in British North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report ...

so pleased

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

that, according to family tradition, she named him "Photographer to the Queen." Notman's status and business grew over the next three decades. He established branches throughout Canada and the United States, including seasonal branches at

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

and

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

universities to cater to the student trade. Notman was also an active member of the Montreal artistic community; he collaborated with other artists such as Alexander Henderson to sponsor and host art exhibitions in his studio. The studio also provided training for aspiring photographers and painters. Notman was highly regarded by his colleagues for his innovative photography, and held patents for some of the techniques he developed to recreate winter within the studio walls. He could simulate the presence of ice and snow in the studio, replicate fire using magnesium flares, and create naturalistic photographs using an innovative composite technique. His professional renown and financial success may largely be attributed to his winter scenes. He won medals at exhibitions in Montreal, London, Paris, and Australia. Notman's celebrity was also bolstered by his portraits of famous subjects such as

one 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

Sitting Bull Sitting Bull ( ; December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota people, Lakota leader who led his people during years of resistance against Federal government of the United States, United States government policies. Sitting Bull was killed by Indian ...

(Sioux name Tatanka Iyotake) and

Buffalo Bill William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), better known as Buffalo Bill, was an American soldier, bison hunter, and showman. One of the most famous figures of the American Old West, Cody started his legend at the young age ...

(born William Frederick Cody). Photography during the mid-19th century was not the simple process it later became. The typical tourist generally did not carry a camera and much of the Notman studio's images were taken with the tourist's needs in mind. Visitors would look through Notman's picture books and chose views, to buy individually mounted or perhaps made up into an album, and have a portrait taken as well. Street scenes in the burgeoning cities of Canada, the magnificence of modern transportation by rail and steam, expansive landscapes and the natural wonders, were all in demand either as 8" x 10" print, or in the popular

stereographic Stereoscopy, also called stereoscopics or stereo imaging, is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...

form, and were duly recorded by the many staff photographers working for the Notman studio. He was a regular contributor to the photographic journal ''Philadelphia Photographer'' and in partnership with its editor, Edward Wilson, formed the Centennial Photographic Company for the

Centennial Exhibition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, held in honour of the 100th anniversary of the United States in 1876. He won the only gold medal to be awarded by the British judges and the portrait identification card required for entrance to the grounds was the ancestor of today's various photo-ID cards. When William Notman died suddenly in November 1891 after a short bout of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, management of the studio Wm Notman & Son was left to his son William McFarlane Notman, an experienced photographer in his own right, who with his brothers, had accompanied the itinerant settlement known as "End of Track" for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

and documented the completion of the railway in Western Canada.

Legacy

At Notman's death, his eldest son and partner, William McFarlane Notman, inherited the company. When William McFarlane Notman died of cancer in 1913, his younger brother Charles assumed responsibility. In 1935, Charles retired and sold the studio to the

Associated Screen News Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California *Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associatio ...

, In 1957, the Notman Collection was purchased by

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

. The 200,000 negatives, 43 Index Books, 200 Picture Books and assorted memorabilia were transferred to the

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum, formerly known as the McCord Museum of Canadian History, is a public research and teaching museum. The Museum’s Archives, Documentary Art, Dress, Fashion and Textiles, Indigenous Cultures, Material Culture and Photogr ...

of Canadian History. The

Notman Photographic Archives The Notman Photographic Archives () is an archive of photographic images originally collected by photographer William Notman. It is conserved by the McCord Museum of Canadian History in Montreal, Quebec. Institutions and researchers worldwide consu ...

was created with the addition of the McCord Museum's existing photographic holdings to the Notman Collection, and the Notman Collection served as the kernel for an extensive Canadian photography department, covering Canada from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

to the

Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...

, from 1841 to 1935. His residence from 1876 until his death,

in Montreal was added to the

Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec The Quebec Cultural Heritage Directory ( French: ''Répertoire du patrimoine culturel du Québec'') is an online cultural heritage knowledge dissemination tool for the province of Quebec. The directory is maintained by the province's Ministry of C ...

historic registry on 8 December 1979.

Gallery

File:William Notman studios - Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill (1895) edit.jpg, '' Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill'' (1885), by Notman File:JosephHoweByWilliamNotman.png, Joseph Howe by William Notman File:JosephHoweByHenrySandham.png,

Joseph Howe Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer h ...

Henry Sandham Henry Sandham (24 May 1842 – 21 June 1910) was a Canadian painter and illustrator. He was the brother of author and numismatist Alfred Sandham. Biography Born in Montreal, Sandham decided at an early age to pursue an artistic career, and ...

Province House (Nova Scotia) Province House () in Halifax is where the Nova Scotia legislative assembly, known officially as the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, has met every year since 1819, making it the longest serving legislative building in Canada. The building is Can ...

, from photo by Notman File:Elmira Rastel de Rocheblave by William Notman.jpg, Elmira Rastel de Rocheblave by Notman

References

External links

*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

''Notman's World''
a

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

documentary {{DEFAULTSORT:Notman, William 1826 births 1891 deaths Canadian photographers Artists from Montreal Anglophone Quebec people Canadian people of Scottish descent Photographers from Paisley, Renfrewshire Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Burials at Mount Royal Cemetery

Biography

Legacy

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading

External links